£1.9m improvements to paths and car parks

FOOTPATHS, bridleways and car parks in Castleshaw and Denshaw are set for a boost thanks to a £1.9 million heritage project.

Pennine Prospects, which includes Oldham Council as a member, has been awarded the money by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The group is a not-for-profit company that brings together private, public and voluntary sector organisations in partnership for the South Pennines.

The council was involved in all stages of the bid development process and provided letters of support for the application.

Within Oldham, the programme focuses on Castleshaw and Denshaw Moor, and includes plans for improvements to footpaths/ bridleways, moorland habitats, car parking, dry stone walls, visitor information, and development of new archaeological trails.

All the outlined projects have been developed with teams from across the council including outdoor education, the countryside service and regeneration.

The South Pennines Watershed Landscape is the upland habitat where rainwater is divided east from west, North Sea from Irish Sea and Lancashire from Yorkshire.

The Watershed Landscape marks the stories of two historical incidents where the impact of people changed the landscape, the arrival of agriculture and the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The landscape has made a huge impression on the borough’s history and heritage and it now has a major role to play in rising to the challenge of climate change.

Other project highlights taking place across the areas awarded the HLF money include restoring traditional features such as boundary walls, sheepfolds or shooting lodges, researching the history of coal in the Pennines from medieval times to the present day and supporting the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds initiatives to save the rare Twite.